Always ask: why?

No one expected Justice Ray Pace to be next in line among the judiciary to be accused of bribery. I guess it's indicative of just how corrupt our institutions are, and I'm sure this is only the tip of the iceberg.

But is it, really?

Or does it show that we in the media are very gullible, and that we love the sight of blood?

I will not pass judgement over Ray Pace before I hear all the versions - give the man a chance. It just so happens that the Prime Minister and leader of opposition have said that they favour impeachment. How sweet! Neither of them have any respect for the concept that there is something called the presumption of innocence.

The PM has of course jumped on this crisis for his own political benefit, and extended the impeachment to Farrugia Sacco. Again, we can all say that there are those who favour Farrugia Sacco to go... and others who do not.

But Farrugia Sacco is correct in saying that the two cases are not at all comparable.  To be fair, they're not even remotely comparable.

But to the PM, they are, and for obvious political reasons.

It makes sense for Gonzi to appear tough, and more importantly, it helps his political ratings (though they are not picked up in our barometer).

Farrugia Sacco has been the punching bag for the PN and of late for the secretary general of the PN, and it would appear that being tough with Farrugia Sacco may in fact reap electoral dividends.

There is little doubt in my mind that the calculations being made on both sides of the political divide is that the call for Farrugia Sacco's impeachment is linked to his political leanings and that of his son's candidature with Labour.

Muscat, of course, cannot possibly push for his impeachment, but I guess for the wrong reasons.

The Prime Minister was not taking questions, but there was one question which I would have asked.

What about Rita Schembri, the disgraced head of internal audit?

Does she not deserve to be kicked out?

Bloody hell, yes.

As I write, we have all condemned Ray Pace and declared him guilty. But it is fair to say that he, of all people, should be given the right to be presumed innocent.

The Prime Minister (a lawyer by profession) should know that.

The prime minister and the leader of the Opposition have rushed to declare the fate of Ray Pace... so much for fair trials and the presumption of innocence.

Obviously, this is not on the minds of people - what is on the minds of people is how serious the rot has become.

I can assure you that what we find today in a few members of the judiciary is more widespread in the political class. And though it is difficult to prove, we have enough proof to know who is in the soup and who is not.

Politicians also offer favours, but this is difficult to prove.

Which brings me to the influence of government on the police.

To the idea that the police are influenced by government and people high in government is not difficult to believe.

I would love to have the same stealth technology at my fingertips and show to what extent communication takes place between the government and certain elements within the police.

But it seems that only the police can tap people.

There is nothing wrong in that, other than the fact that I question the timing and the attention being given to some cases.

My eyes are now on the John Dalli case, and I for one expect no quarter from the government and the police on Dalli, and if they have even circumstantial evidence I have no doubt in my mind that they will act, and act in such a way that will give the impression that the man is guilty before he can even prove his innocence.

I continue to believe that Dalli is innocent, but there are those in the police force and government who want to drag him to the courts.

And there are those in the corridors of power who actively support this.

***

Maverick Franco Debono reminded us that Lawrence Gonzi is very much like his uncle.

His uncle was known for his vindictive streak and was a nasty Archbishop who created more division than even his nemesis at the time: the late Dom Mintoff.

He took Malta back to the middle ages.

I still give Lawrence Gonzi the benefit of the doubt. I would imagine - and still hope - that he takes political decisions for the general good and not for electoral reasons.

I would like to believe that he is compassionate, fair, honest, and a reasonable man. 

Others don't necessarily agree.

For days now, Gonzi's janissaries - the super heroes known as Where's Everybody - have been trying to get Anglu Farrugia and Simon Busuttil together. If anyone believes that Joe Azzopardi is a fair presenter, then it has to be someone who either believes that WE should run the media (like North Korea) or else is completely lobotomised.

And I should add, at this point, that I think that Labour's decision not to send Anglu Farrugia on Friday was silly (not to say puerile).

It's true that Franco Debono makes good TV, but that is not the point.

Debono makes very good TV, but he's not good at scoring electoral points.

It is true that Lou Bondi and Joe Azzopardi are gatekeepers for the government, but one cannot start bragging about the fact that PBS is a Nationalist club NOW.

It is far too late to start complaining now.

It is true that Anglu Farrugia is not God's gift to mankind, but Simon Busuttil is not the impossible talk show guest who has all the answers.

He is not Mr Know It All.

When it comes to the crunch, he reminds me of a chef who knows all the ingredients, but cannot put them together to cook a proper meal.

In all this fracas, someone in the Labour party came up with the brilliant idea that I could be a better replacement for Joe Azzopardi.

I have no problem stating that even if PBS had conceded to this suggestion, I would have refused the invitation for the very simple reason that I do not want to share a room with any of the goons who presently run the station.

The point that has to be made is very simple.

No one today believes that PBS is a worthy State broadcaster. Very much like what we thought of PBS before 1987.

***

The political truce announced by the parties is a bloody sick joke.  This weekend, if anything, was a battleground.  During the next few days, the candidates will be in full swing, visiting constituents.

And on Monday - just in case one did not think it is political - George Pullicino, who will go down as the minister who had MEPA taken away from him after his ODZ scheming, will launch his idea of an energy policy.

Just the right timing, I guess!

***

I have no brief for Pavi supermarkets. Indeed, I do not even know who its owners are, and I have only visited the establishment on two occasions. But the MEPA application for another supermarket next to Pavi is incredible.

Anyone in business will talk of Zaren Vassallo as being ruthless when it comes to competition, but for MEPA to ignore policy and economic sense and allow Zaren to get away with this is absolute madness.

Anyone who has painstakingly invested in a supermarket of that size only to discover that policy has changed and your next door neighbour is about to do the same thing you have been doing has good reason to ask a simple question.

Is MEPA mad? Or is everyone willing to dance to Zaren's tune?

Apparently, yes. Because by the looks of it, the whole application process has been speeded up in amazing record time.